2015 LiveWIRE innovation award

2015 LiveWIRE innovation award

“My ambition is to grow from ‘start-up’ to a large company. That’s why I’m extremely grateful to receive the LiveWIRE Award today. I hope to be able to offer more elderly people a pleasant and independent life,” said Maja Rudinac.

Elderly people in care homes who had given up on life. It was an image so difficult to see for Maja Rudinac that she set up Robot Care Systems. Her robots help the elderly to stay independent for longer and enjoy life more. Her company originated from the deeply felt necessity to make a change. Maja Rudinac: “I saw how the elderly struggled with every-day tasks in nursing and care homes.”

The LiveWIRE award is awarded every year to an entrepreneur of under 35 years old who convinces the jury of their innovative abilities and entrepreneurship. This year’s final had been organized, completely in style, to take place at B. Amsterdam: a building of the future as far as cooperation and dynamics are concerned.

“It’s wonderful to see how young entrepreneurs want to conquer the market with innovations. LiveWIRE is an example of how large companies and start-ups can work together in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship,” says Dick Benschop, President Director of Shell in the Netherlands.

Claudia Zuiderwijk, chair of the Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, adds: “What we really need is innovation that allows companies to scale up. That’s what we’re going to gear the LiveWIRE programme to during the coming years. We’re proud that we can offer these young and ambitious entrepreneurs a wealth of options and activities in cooperation with Shell.”

The four companies (EXO-L, KonneKt, Skytree and Robot Care Systems) were judged on their innovation, entrepreneurship and potential for growth. The jury was made up of Hubert Deitmers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Endeit Capital B.V., Constantijn van Oranje, Special Advisor to StartupDelta & Vice-Chair of International Circle of Influencers, Huib ter Braak, Excom member of Arval & Director Europe and Mediterranean Zone, Chairman-elect CIC Rotterdam, and Marius T.H. Meeus, Professor of Strategy, innovation and organizational learning at Tilburg University. The jury award was awarded by Geert-Jan Bruinsma, founder of booking.com.